I teach creative writing to children as part of an after-school enrichment program. One child, let’s call him Burt, is a bit obsessed with bodily functions. Burt wrote a story entitled, “The Battle of Pooey Land.”

Okay.

As a teacher, I try to pull out the story that’s buried deep beneath all the references to ‘poo’. I know kids must explore this part of life, and some get into it to the point they must write about it. As long as there’s a plot going on, a story that comes full circle, then I can ignore the gory detail.

However, I have my limits.

Burt used a fellow writing student (who’s also his so-called friend) as a character in his story. He did not change his friend’s name in the story, but I’ll refer to the friend as Ernie.